CASE STUDY
The impact of high-performance storage has also been felt in the frequent and widespread use of data collected from the cars during a race .
Each car is fitted with more than 200 physical sensors and the data gathered during a race is carefully scrutinised by team members across multiple design functions to glean all possible insights that could help improve performance , both for the next race and over the long term .
IT ’ S SIMPLE , IT ’ S COMPACT , IT ’ S LIGHT , IT ’ S TOLERANT TO THE DIFFERENT
ENVIRONMENTS WE ’ RE TAKING IT TO .
Approximately 400GB of data is collected during each race , a total of 9TB for the entire season . Employees at team headquarters studying this data use a two-step process to extract the information they need .
First , metadata about the files is downloaded , resulting in a list of available files . Once a file is selected , it is then opened . If that file isn ’ t the right one , the process must be repeated . This two-step process used to take around seven minutes . Now it now takes two and a half minutes , a reduction approaching 70 %. This means that team members spend much less time waiting to get access to the data . “ Every single minute is precious to us in the context of the limited amount of time we have to prepare between sessions , in particular between the three sessions in qualifying ,” Harris noted .
Among the most data-intensive applications used by Mercedes- AMG Petronas Formula One Team is computational fluid dynamics ( CFD ), an essential tool in the design and test process . It ’ s used to simulate the performance of a part or a design element of the car under race conditions . CFD applications require massive processing power and can take up to 20 hours to run . Initial testing has shown moving these applications onto Pure Storage has reduced some processing time by up to 15 % and “ this means that we can run more jobs a week just by changing storage ,” Harris noted . “ The opportunity to run more design simulations in the same amount of time greatly enhances our ability to improve the car ’ s performance . Pure Storage is our unfair advantage .”
Using Pure lowers operating costs
The impact of Pure Storage on the team ’ s operations extends beyond the seven-building campus where design , manufacturing and office operations are carried out . IT equipment must be shipped to the site of each race . By moving to FlashArray from Pure Storage , the size and weight of storage equipment needed at the track has been sharply decreased .”
The reliability of Pure Storage arrays is highly prized by the team , as IT equipment at the track must be able to accommodate a wide range of weather conditions and must withstand multiple assembly and disassembly procedures during the course of the season .
As a veteran IT professional , Harris appreciates many aspects of Pure Storage products . “ The simplicity of the solution is brilliant . Our storage administrators used to spend in aggregate three days a week on storage issues . They now spend three hours per week , if that . Now , I don ’ t need a storage admin , I need a guy that looks after VMware , the storage looks after itself .”
The small footprint of the Pure Storage arrays has meant a 68 % reduction in data centre rack space , resulting in a savings in operating costs . Harris said : “ The support we receive makes Pure Storage an extension of our team . They bring issues to our attention before we are even aware of them . We don ’ t have to think about storage anymore .”
The ability of Pure Storage to perform non-disruptive upgrades has also impressed Harris : “ When we upgraded our FA-450 arrays to the // m20 . and // m70 . models , we did it on a weekday morning during full production runs . I never would have thought that was possible .”
Harris concluded : “ We ’ re a small IT team and the amount of data we handle isn ’ t that huge compared to a lot of big companies . However , the data we collect is extremely valuable and helps us maintain a competitive advantage in a short amount of time .
“ IT ’ s pledge is to make that process as fast and reliable as possible . Pure Storage delivers on that promise , they ’ ve really become an extension of our team . They care about the storage as much , if not more , than we do .” •
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